Lawrence, Gertrude (real name, Gertrud Alexandra Dagmar Lawrence Klasen)

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Lawrence, Gertrude (real name, Gertrud Alexandra Dagmar Lawrence Klasen)

Lawrence, Gertrude (real name, Gertrud Alexandra Dagmar Lawrence Klasen), English actress, singer, and dancer; b. London, July 4, 1898; d. N.Y., Sept. 6, 1952. She began her career with appearances in British revues (from 1910), and then starred in André Chariot’s Revue in London, with which she made her N.Y. debut (1924). George and Ira Gershwin wrote for her the musicals Oh, Kay! (1926) and Treasure Girl (1928). After working mainly as an actress in England and the U.S., she won great critical acclaim as Liza Elliot in the Kurt Weill and Moss Hart musical play Lady in the Dark (1941). Her last role was as Anna in the Rodgers and Hammer stein musical The King and I (1951). She publ. her autobiography as A Star Danced (1945).

Bibliography

R. Aldrich, G. L. as Mrs. A (.(N.Y, 1954).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

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Lawrence, Gertrude (real name, Gertrud Alexandra Dagmar Lawrence Klasen)

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